When companies grow fast, service usually suffers. Convergys can't afford to expand at the expense of the customer experience. The company's chief executive, Jim Orr uses the following ideas to help balance two core elements: people and technology.
1. Keep the business transparent. For its own customers (the companies, not the callers), Convergys offers secure, Web-based access to the huge flow of information from its call centers. Companies can check anytime to see how well Convergys is doing. And the information flow is real time, says David Dougherty, chief development officer.
2. To manage for the future, predict it. Convergys prides itself on forecasting the number of calls that its centers will get. Good forecasting -- which requires skill at handling computer models like those used to predict the weather -- is the only way to schedule enough staff to handle call volumes properly.
3. Grow fast, promote slow. Convergys resists the urge to use inexperienced agents to handle calls beyond their expertise, despite the volume.
4. It's great to automate. Many things can be handled automatically, by providing information to those who, in essence, press "1." The company knows that if a new fee or tax appears on bills, thousands of people will call in, and most of them will be satisfied with an automated explanation. But Convergys also is alert to the frustration quotient. "We always urge our clients to give customers the option to press '0' and talk to a live agent," says Dougherty.
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